Simon Dawkins reckons Aston Villa are in a false position in the Premier League after a favourable first impression of the talent in Paul Lambert’s squad.

Dawkins enjoyed a winning introduction to his Villa Park career when his encouraging cameo helped them climb out of the drop zone with Sunday’s 2-1 victory over West Ham.

The 25-year-old winger admits it has been a challenge to acclimatise to the English top flight by being launched into the claret and blues’ tense battle for survival.

But Dawkins, who is on loan from Tottenham after a successful Major League Soccer stint with San Jose Earthquakes, is convinced there is sufficient quality at Villa.

“It’s a hard situation to come into when the team has been struggling but with the players we have here we should never be struggling,” he said.

“I’ve just been here for a couple of weeks and I’ve seen the quality. Hopefully I can learn from these guys and develop and we can get out of it.

“Everyone is positive because they are good players. The position in the league doesn’t reflect the talent that we have in the team. I’m sure every guy in there has the ability and the belief that they can get out of it.”

Dawkins has been particularly impressed with Christian Benteke and admits he didn’t realise quite how good the Belgian striker was until he signed on deadline day.

“He’s a really good player,” he said. “He’s got the touch, he’s got great ability to hold the ball, he can finish. He’s got pace, he’s got everything. For such a young guy he can be something really special.

“I didn’t realise how good he was before I came here but you realise when you play with a player like that in training every day.

“I heard a lot about him so I knew what to expect but he is even better than I expected.”

Dawkins came on a 64th-minute substitute in Sunday’s win over the Hammers and admits his Premier League bow was well worth the wait after injuries hampered his progress at Spurs.

He is a free agent when his White Hart Lane contract expires at the end of the season and is determined to enjoy his spell at Villa rather than worrying about the future.

“I’ve been at Tottenham for so long that I’m probably one of their current longest serving players,” he said.

“So it’s good to finally make my Premier League debut, even though it’s with Villa rather with them, and hopefully I can push on here.

“It was a great atmosphere at Villa Park. I’ve heard a lot about it but it was my first time here and it was a great experience.

“Transfer deadline day was the first I heard from Villa. There were a lot of clubs interested and there were some also in the Premier League.

“I just wanted to come on and try and make a difference and hopefully I contributed to the result.

‘‘The most important thing was the three points because we’re really struggling down there. The gaffer just said to me ‘go on and try to change the game’ and hopefully I did that.

“I’m just trying to do well, take that next step and show people what I can do. Aston Villa have allowed me to do that and have given me that opportunity.”